Love the Southern Style
by Sparklenfadeaway
Summary: Times are rough. Jeff is trying to save his career and Aubrey is trying to keep her family together without falling apart herself. Who can you turn to when it seems like the world is against you? Jeff Hardy/OC
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1**

**March 12, 2008  
Cameron, North Carolina**

Cameron, North Carolina is one of the best places in the world. Well maybe it is if you really know how to appreciate the country lifestyle; Families going to the county fairs together, taking hikes and going to Pine Lake as a teenager making out with your high school sweetheart, or just swimming on those hot summer days. There was still the old time diner that had been in the Gallagher family for years on the main street. Nothing changed in Cameron. Everyone knew their neighbors and they were all friends. It wasn't odd when you had a family BBQ to invite the whole neighborhood and everyone brought half the food.

You saw the teenage guys riding in their pick-ups with their arms around their girlfriends. The kids walking down the street from leaving the ice cream pallor with a cone in their hand, trying to eat the ice cream before it melted and made their hands sticky.

The best thing about this place was it didn't matter who you were to the rest of the world. You could be famous but here you were just another person like everyone else. That's what Jeff Hardy liked the most about where he had lived his whole life. Of course he traveled all over the world and had even considered briefly moving away, but he couldn't. Cameron held everything dear to him. He valued the time he was home but he wished his this time off came under better circumstances. He was home to get his life in order before he lost everything. He and his long time girlfriend Beth had gotten into an argument over the phone when he told her about his suspension from work. The call ended badly and neither of them was happy with each other, she was tired of trying to get through to him. It seemed like he didn't want her help nor did he want to hear her opinion about his suspension over the prescription drugs he got caught using. She went to stay with a friend in Raleigh while he was arranging a flight home. This fight had just been the last in a long line of arguments about how he was living his life, and he knew better then to do the stupid crap he was, but sometimes you slip and just hope that when you hit the bottom you don't crash and burn.

So here he was driving around on his way home and thinking of what he was going to do now. He passed the same old diner, still painted a soft white on the outside with the huge turning 'Gal's Diner' sign on the pole out front. He thought it was funny calling the place Gals, but he guessed it made sense since a Gallagher always ran the place. Looking through the window he saw Mrs. Gallagher behind the counter, the waiters and waitresses walking around and taking orders. He missed being in there eating and talking to the guys. Come to think of it he missed a lot about this place that he had started to take for granted.

He missed his old friends that he didn't get to hang out with due to his schedule, Brice, Seb Davis and Jake Gallagher, and god help him, he missed Jake's little sister A. Seb's sister Molly. A.J. was always a feisty kid. Running around with the boys, doing everything they would do; she became quite the athlete while she was in high school, if he remembered correctly. She was his and Jake's responsibility during the summer months, along with Matt, Shannon and Seb and though sometimes it got annoying having her and Molly tag along there were times he was happy to have A.J. around.

The car pulled up in front of the house on Mason Lynn Road, so he moved to shut off his engine. Soon as that was done he hopped out and made his way up the drive to his friends' house.

"Jeff, Is that you?" Jake yelled from under the truck he was currently working on. He noticed the black corvette that had pulled up in his drive way.

"It's me." He said walking over.

"Damn. I didn't think you would be back when you just left what three days ago or something. What happened?"

"A lot happened. Got into an argument with Beth and decided that it was time to take a break for me to get my life together. Along with that I got suspended from work because I took prescription drugs that I shouldn't have and didn't pass the drug test."

"We decided or she decided?" He asked.

"Well she did, but it's a smart decision right now." He answered shrugging.

"Ah. Well come on in. We can talk about the suspension and that. Catch me up on things. I'll do my best to help you out."

"Alright."

"Sounds good. I'll grab the beers from the fridge."

"Sounds good to me." Jeff said following his friend into the house.

**~ Gallagher's Diner ~**

"Jake, get your butt over here and help Mama." Aubrey yelled at her brother.

"I'm coming; hold your horses."

"I don't have any horses to hold onto at this moment smart mouth." She replied sticking out her tongue.

Aubrey, better known to Cameron natives as A.J., had moved back home to help with her family. She had been living up in Boston working towards her doctor's degree. She had made it through undergrad school and half way through medical school. She wanted so badly to be a doctor, but the hours studying were exhausting. She was 24 and was moving back home half way through her semester because her family needed her. She had to find a medical school closer to home if she wanted to continue her plan, but for the time being, she had to worry about her father.

He was having tons of health problems, which seem to get worse as time went on. His health was half the reason she wanted to be a doctor. Fixing her father was among the highest of her goals. He could barely stay in the diner the whole day anymore, so her brother took over cooking most meals along with Tommy. Tommy had been with the family for years now, aging grumpily along. That always made her smile. Her mother ran the register, helped wait on customers at the counter, while Aubrey took over waiting on tables and filling in where she was needed.

She had been home for almost a month now and still had no time to herself, but she figured that was okay and everything would work itself out. Saint Patrick 's Day was coming up, and her family always had something going on in the restaurant. The one good thing about moving home was that she actually had her own house instead of an apartment. Her family home was on County Rd, but her house was down on Graffenstatte. It was a half hour drive, but her place was closer to the diner on the main strip. Her house was also only 5 minutes from Jake's place. That was both a blessing and a curse. He seemed to think that checking up on his baby sister was a nightly duty of his, driving by her house to see if her truck was there. Her other perk of being home was that she got to buy a new truck, so going out and getting her Nissan Titan was a huge deal. Having such a huge truck in Boston was useless so being able to buy it now made her laugh. The country girl was back with a vengeance. Well not a vengeance but she guessed she was finally back in a place where she fit in.

She had changed a lot since being gone. She wasn't that naïve country girl anymore. College had a way of making you open your eyes to the world. Being a sorority sister and going to frat parties also had that effect, but she was one of the good ones who knew her limits. Her first year in Boston, she cut her hair shorter (which she eventually grew back down to her butt because that made everyone else more jealous), and highlighted it. She went tanning to keep that southern glow that everyone seemed envious of, and changed the way she dressed. Most guys took notice, but she didn't notice them. It was bad, but she had always thought of marrying a southern guy who had the same values she did.

She didn't want to live her life so far away from her family, but she had ended up in Boston on a full scholarship and thought it would be the best thing to make her grow up. Her best friend Molly wasn't too far away in New York City studying to become a photographer. She often ended up posing for her photos when she went down into the city or Molly came up to visit her. While she lived in Boston, she saw more and more posters of her old friends Matt & Jeff Hardy along with Shannon Moore and Shane Helms. She noticed they were becoming quite the rage in the wrestling world. She remembered them being the sweetest guys once you got to know them, but they often hid that part of themselves from everyone. Matt, Jeff, Shan, Seb, Jake, Molly and her got into tons of trouble running around the town and thinking back on those times, it was all worth every punishment she ever received.

**Please read and review if you like it or have some suggestion.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter** 2

**March 14, 2008**

Jeff had been home for a few days and already was bored to death. He knew what he had done was stupid and now he was sitting at home for 60 days. He already visited his friends' houses just about every day and had learned from Jake that A.J. was back home, though he had yet to get to see her. Thinking about A.J. had him making the decision to go to Gal's Diner for dinner. He figured he just might catch up with A.J. there if not Jake as well.

**~ Gal's Diner ~**

**5 p.m.**

"Aubrey Jean Gallagher get your behind out here and help me clean these tables." Jake yelled to his sister. The restaurant had been busy since lunch and Jake was tired of cleaning up the messes of the customers. They still had about three hours left before closing down for the night and Jake could hardly wait. Along with busing tables, he was also trying to seat people. Hearing the bell over the door jingle he turned his head to look at who walked through.

"Hey Jeff. What are you doing here?" he asked.

"Thought I would stop in for something to eat. I got hungry and didn't feel like cooking."

"Sit wherever you want to. Yell for Aubrey to get her ass here and get you something to drink. She won't listen to me and move it. Maybe she'll listen to you."

"If she's busy working, leave her alone."

"She can bring you out something to drink. She's just standing around talking to Tommy anyhow. Or she's on that damn cell phone with god knows who." He muttered. "Aubrey, Jeff is here." Jake yelled.

"Why are you calling her Aubrey now? She's always been A.J."

"Now she wants to go by her name. She claims that 'A 24 year old women shouldn't be called by a childish nickname'." It was hard for him to remember not to call her A.J. so more times than not he referred to her by her whole name. He figured he could get her used to being A.J. again now that she was back in Cameron and show her that it isn't a childish nickname but more of a family pet name. She finally came out from behind the counter and brought out food for another table and drinks for those sitting at the counter. Catching Jeff from the corner of her eye she ran over to hug him nearly knocking him down in the process.

"What are you doing here? Jake told me you were home though you should still be on the road but refused to tell me why you're not. I have no clue when any of you are supposed to be home and when you're on the road. I caught Shannon at home last week by luck and I caught Matt earlier today for a few minutes when I noticed him driving down the street but he had to get home to do laundry and pack and I had to get here."

"Yeah. They are the busy ones now. I got suspended for being stupid. 60 days to think about what I did and to get help. No matter. Now, what were you really doing all that time behind the counter with your phone to your ear?" Jeff asked with a devilish smile.

"I was on the phone with Molly. There was some kind of accident on her latest job and she has to go in for surgery tomorrow. After that she's staying in the city for a bit until they let her leave and then I think she is coming down here to see if her Seb can help her get back on her feet again. I wish she wasn't hurt, but I'm glad she's coming down here. I miss not being able to see her that much."

Aubrey and Molly had been friends from birth. They lived next to each other until going off to college. Molly ended up studying at the School for Visual Arts in New York City while she went to Boston. How they managed to stay friends was beyond her, but she was grateful to have her around.

Molly was completely opposite of Aubrey. In high school they were the same; both girls were on the cheerleading squad and loved to play football with the guys. They were the most tomboyish females that he had ever met, but both loved to hide in a darkroom. Molly turned her obsession into her career, while Aubrey didn't take photography that seriously and just used it as an outlet to express herself. When Molly didn't have a date for prom, Aubrey had begged Jake to go with her saying that it would be the only favor she would ask of him for three months, two months later, she was asking him to help her pack for Boston. Aubrey was always talking Molly into doing weird experiments in the science labs too. They got in tons of trouble when they accidentally created a stink bomb that had the school closing early due to the smell.

Molly still lived in New York and she had defiantly made something of herself as a photographer. She worked on movie sets and took pictures for various magazines when she was asked. People liked Molly and she had a way of putting those around her at ease in order to get the best out of them for her work. She still looked and acted the same. A tomboy that never lost the muscle to move heavy objects. Nor was she afraid of breaking nails, her hair being messy, or her clothes having a little bit of dirt on them. Aubrey, on the other hand, hated her hair getting messy unless she purposely put it in a messy bun style, couldn't stand if her nails weren't perfectly manicured, even though she was forced to keep them short working her residency in hospitals. It was like she left here a normal, everyday girl next door who didn't care what she looked liked and came back with the need to keep up appearances. She didn't mind not looking her best all the time, but when she wanted to look good she went all out. She was used to going to the hospital and wearing scrubs all day that would eventually end up with some stain on them. The labor of keeping the lake house up along with her home didn't bother her and neither did the long hours that Jake was getting increasingly tired of.

**~ Jeff's Point of View ~**

The restaurant still looked the same as it did the last time he had been in there. The tables were packed with families sitting down together and the after school crowd of teenagers coming in with their friends to hang out and talk about the upcoming week of school. It was a typical afternoon in Cameron. Or as typical as it could get. A.J. however, had changed. She no longer held the look of innocence. Older now and much more mature, she was a woman. He never would have guessed that the female behind the counter was her if Jake hadn't mentioned she was over there. She was still short and could easily pass as a teenager. Though her height had never bothered her much. She barely reached his shoulders. He was busy studying the way she had her hair up in some messy style instead of hanging down her back wondering if she had cut it all off or if it was still as long as he remembered, it would be a shame if it wasn't still long. He always liked females with long hair. It took him time to register the fact that she was talking to him.

"Jeff?"

"Hum" he said suddenly snapping back to reality. "What did you say?"

"I asked what you wanted to eat. Are you going to stare at me the whole time like I am some kind of alien?" she laughed.

"No. It just amazes me how much you've changed." He said. The person standing before him had been blessed. Aubrey was 5'5 and curved in all the right places. She was never one of the skinny mini girls, preferring to be in shape but still cushiony and curvy so there was more than just bones or muscles. Her hair was now a light brown with highlights instead of the mousey brown. Her eyes were still the color of clouds before a storm that held a sparkle. Jeff remembered those eyes every time she wanted something, they would hold a mischievous gleam and you knew there would be trouble to come. Her smile was so big that it momentarily threw him off guard.

"Okay charmer. Tell me what you want and I'll go get it and we can talk or something. I don't know how long I can sit and talk with Jake around telling me what to do, but it's worth a shot."

"Burger, fries and a coke." He answered. She went and placed his order, then went about helping the other customers out. It had taken them until the end of the night to find time to talk, but ultimately Jeff decided to hang around until she could sit down for a bit. It wasn't like Beth was at home waiting for him to come in, nor did he have to be up to catch an early morning flight to god knows where like Matt. When she plopped in the booth across from him he began asking her a ton of questions.

"What brought you back home? I thought you still had classes to take or something up there?" he asked.

"Well Papa being sick had me running home. I seem to have have been spending all my time either here, Mama and Papas house or painting my own home. Oh and trying to find a medical school down here so I can finish the rest of my schooling. Sometimes I wonder why I wanna be a doctor but I look at Papa and I know why. I want to be able to save lives. I am thinking of working specifically as a surgeon."

"You're not living at home?" he asked in surprise. If she wasn't living in the family house, then her move was really a big deal.

"Nope. I had enough money to put down on a house of my own. It's beautiful and just what I needed. Well at least I think it is. The only bad thing about the house is that I live 5 minutes from Jake who likes to come over all the time. Like he has nothing better then being around me."

"He's always been like that. It about killed him when you went to school so far away. Where at on Graffenstatte are you living now?"

"1000 block. It's a brick house, 3 bedrooms, and 2 bathrooms. It's more than enough room for me. Honestly, it's kind of lonely living there, but I'd never tell them that. I'd be moved back into here faster than I could blink, or Jake would make me move in with him. You would think he'd be married by now, but can he be normal? No." she said, exasperated. Jeff had to laugh at her distress. If anything she always wanted Jake married so she could have a sister.

"Aww. Without you here pushing him, he can do as he pleases. He'll get married when he's ready."

"Yeah, but without him being married, Mama and Papa are on me to find a husband and have kids. They already started as soon as I came home. As if I don't have enough already with trying to become a doctor." Jeff continued laughing at her he couldn't help it. She was so adorable, all tiny and combustible. He could easily picture her as a mother. And he knew she'd make a hell of a wife just by looking at what kind of a daughter she was. She'd do anything for those she loved. "Go on, keep laughing. It's not that funny. I don't need to get married yet. Least they could do is wait another 6 years before bothering me. I'll be 30 then and maybe ready to settle down."

"Time to get through med-school and then have even less of a life then you have now with all the schooling to come?"

"Well when you put it that way I see why they would be pushing, but it doesn't mean I have to like it. So where's Beth?"

"She and I had a fight, so I am flying solo again." He said sullenly.

"I'm sorry Jeff. I thought you and her would make it through anything. Never know a break might be good and things will work themselves out. You know though, no matter what you'll always be my 3rd time charmer. Only because I have to count Papa and Jake ahead of you or they'd kill me." She said smiling at him.

"You know, with a smile like that you could get away with murder." He replied.

"Wow. That was random. But thank you. I better help Mama with cleaning. Feel free to head out, or if you want to stick around we can hang out or something. I think Jake already left, forcing me to do the cleaning."

"Okay. I'll hang around. Is there anything I can do to help?" he offered.

"Nope." She answered hugging him again. "I missed you Trouble."

"I missed you too Pixie. We'll talk later on. Go on and get your work done."

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Thanks for reading… Please leave some reviews if you like it or even if you don't… they are all helpful..

Plus I'm a poor graduate who owns nothing that the WWE owns. Nor do I own Jeff or Matt or anyone else you recognize. I do however own Aubrey, Jake, Seb and Molly and any others you don't know. Thanks.


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